Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 267: My Big Sister, Who’s Probably Scheming All Sorts of Things (Right Now).

My Big Sister, Who’s Probably Scheming All Sorts of Things (Right Now).

Cooking Class.

The classroom that morning was abuzz on all sides—boys and girls alike chattering nonstop about after-school gossip.

Seeing this scene unfold made it crystal clear just how much everyone had been looking forward to today’s cooking class.

And yet, strangely enough, there wasn’t the slightest trace of fallout from last Saturday’s incident.

After something that explosive, I’d fully expected at least a few dropouts (mostly guys). Yesterday it already looked like things would be fine, but when the day actually arrived and I lifted the lid… yep, nothing had changed.

Somehow, against all odds, we’d ended up with perfect attendance.

Of course that was a good thing. As someone who’d put at least a little effort into organising it, I was genuinely happy.

…Or at least, that’s how it should have felt.

“Ahh, I’m seriously looking forward to today.”

“Just breathing the same air as Satsukawa-senpai is pure bliss…”

“If they let us taste the food, maybe I’ll get to eat something Satsukawa-senpai made…”

“I’ve been hyped from the very start. Her home cooking… just imagining it is too much excitement to handle!!”

“Takanashi gets to eat it every day, though.”

“““DON’T SAY THATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!”””

“…I’m getting second-hand embarrassment over here.”

“No, we’re all the same…”

“Same vibe of nothing but idiots, too.”

“Well, I get where they’re coming from, at least.”

It wasn’t just the girls saying it—I was feeling that exact same déjà vu from the exchange playing out in front of me.

And whenever I’m forced to witness scenes like this, a complicated tangle of emotions inevitably rises in my chest.

From what I’ve overheard, they do seem to understand that Sara-san and I are together. Even so, the fact they can keep up that energy means this whole thing has probably turned into an “idol fan club” in all but name.

“Takanashi, if it bothers you that much, why not just flaunt it a little?”

While I was watching the guys with a wry smile, Kawamura sidled up and tossed that line at me.

Flaunt it…? What exactly am I supposed to do?

“Flaunt it, huh…”

“Even if you don’t try, you two are going to end up flaunting it soon enough anyway.”

Hanako-san, who until now had been regarding the boys with cool, half-lidded eyes, suddenly dropped that bombshell right beside me.

I couldn’t help wondering what exactly she meant by flaunting, but… well, I’m painfully aware of how many times I’ve screwed up in public myself, so I can’t exactly deny it outright. And just yesterday I added yet another glorious entry to that list. Bring that up and I’m instantly silenced—there’s no come-back.

“I-Is that true?”

“They just don’t know the half of it. If those idiots over there saw how Kazunari and his wife act on a normal day, the only thing waiting for them is despair.”

“That much…?”

Kawamura stared at my face in open shock, as if imagining something outrageous.

When someone reacts that strongly, even I start wondering exactly what kind of scene is playing out in their head.

“N-No, it’s not that amazing…”

“Really? Then next time, can big sis hug Kazunari too?”

“““HUG?!?”””

Wait just a—!?

Hanako-san’s dangerously loaded statements weren’t new, but this one was skating right on the line!

I hurriedly scanned the room. The boys were still making a racket as usual, and the girls… seemed safe for now.

Phew… seriously.

I have no idea how much the person in question has noticed, but Yamakawa isn’t the only guy here with feelings for Hanako-san. If she keeps tossing out lines like that, we’ll end up with another pointless mess like last time.

I really wish she’d be a little more careful.

…Speaking of which, when did Yamakawa and Tanaka even get here?

“W-What the hell do you two do with Satsukawa-senpai every day…?”

“Ugh, I’m so jealous…”

No comment, obviously.

A lot of what happens between me and Sara-san is the kind of thing I can’t even tell our closest friends.

Top-secret, in other words.

I glanced sideways at Hanako-san and—for just an instant—she flashed what could only be described as a wicked little grin…

No, no, stop that, Nee-chan…

“B-By the way, Hanasaki-san, how are you with cooking?”

The topic change was so painfully obvious I nearly laughed out loud.

That was clearly the real thing he wanted to ask, but it was far too transparent. He was even more nervous than usual; you could see right through him that he was hyper-aware of her.

Well, he did just get rejected, so some awkwardness is inevitable. All we can do is wait for time to smooth things over.

But if he relaxes too much and starts acting overly familiar, Hanako-san will end up annoyed again, so someone needs to warn him about that balance.

“What, do women have to be good at cooking or something?”

“Eh!? N-No, that’s not what I meant at all!!”

“Just kidding.”

“…Huh?”

Oh? Hanako-san cracking a joke with someone who isn’t me or family is pretty rare.

To everyone else it probably looked like the usual ice-queen routine, but from where I was sitting, she had a distinctly mischievous expression. Still, taken out of context, her words could sound like stepping on a landmine, so Yamakawa’s panic was perfectly understandable.

“Wh-What, it was a joke? Haha, you really had me there…”

Being on the receiving end of an actual joke from Hanako-san put the biggest, goofiest smile on Yamakawa’s face.

Considering he’d only ever been ignored or brushed off before, just getting a playful jab felt like monumental progress—and it was. Compared to the other guys, the gap was like heaven and earth.

“H-Hanasaki-san made a joke!? Yamakawa, you… don’t tell me…”

“That’s why it’s annoying when people try to steer everything that way. I have zero interest in any man besides Kazunari.”

“…Right~”

Tanaka just had to open his mouth and ruin the tiny bit of progress Hanako-san had made.

Yamakawa’s shoulders slumped like he’d been physically struck.

No matter how much he says he’s accepted the rejection, there’s still a piece of his heart that hasn’t let go—and those feelings don’t vanish overnight.

Even if he intellectually understands that Hanako-san is completely fixated on me, emotionally moving on is a different matter. Having it spelled out so bluntly… yeah, that has to hurt, no matter how prepared you think you are.

“I’ve been practising at home, but I’m still nowhere near good enough. Until I can at least reach half—no, a third—of what the wife can do, my pride as big sister won’t allow it…”

I’d assumed she’d just ignore the question, but Hanako-san actually answered.

Though calling it an answer felt a little generous—it was more like she was muttering to herself.

And of course, somehow, it all circled back to me.

“Wife?”

“Oh yeah, she does call Satsukawa-senpai ‘bride’ or ‘wife,’ doesn’t she?”

“Is that because she’s her little brother’s marriage partner?”

“Naturally.”

She nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Come to think of it, when exactly did Hanako-san start calling Sara-san “bride”?

It feels like one day it just happened, and we all rolled with it. I’d always assumed it started because of how Sara-san treats me, but…

Maybe it began the moment Hanako-san started seeing me as her little brother. Looking back now, that timing lines up.

If that’s the case, then her stubborn insistence on the word “bride” isn’t just inertia from the early days—it actually means something deeper from her perspective.

“…Thinking about it again, it’s kind of insane, isn’t it? She just casually said ‘marriage,’ but we’re only first-years in high school.”

“If you look at it normally, yeah, it’s unthinkable. But when the partner is Satsukawa-senpai, some special circumstances wouldn’t be strange at all.”

Kawamura really does have that knack for cryptic yet spot-on analysis.

He obviously doesn’t know anything about the Satsukawa family situation, so being able to read the room that calmly is honestly impressive.

Between him and the rest of the class’s takes, I’ve always liked Kawamura’s type. He gives off the same steady vibe as Yuji.

“Man, lucky bastard… Just having Satsukawa-senpai as a girlfriend would be insane levels of jealousy, but being engaged already? The envy must be off the charts.”

“Well, the jealousy was there from the start. But when I think about actually being together with Sara-san like this, it really doesn’t feel like that big a deal.”

Tanaka bringing that up now felt like ancient history. I was long used to the envy, the whispers that I’m “not good enough for her,” everything.

I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I’ll keep walking tall beside Sara-san, head high—that’s all that matters.

“I’ve always wondered, Takanashi—you’ve got this strangely mature, almost detached side to you. At our age, can anyone really think about marriage that calmly?”

“Calm isn’t quite the right word. If I keep dating Sara-san exactly like this, marriage is just the natural outcome, right?”

“Well… yeah, but… Look, this is purely hypothetical, but for people our age, staying together long enough to seriously consider marriage is super rare. Yet you’re already engaged, which means you plan to be together forever…”

“Yeah. I will never, ever leave Sara-san’s side. I can’t go into details, but… the only reason I can be me is because Sara-san is here. That’s why she’s more important to me than my own life, and that will never change.”

I knew Kawamura was indirectly bringing up the possibility of a break-up someday.

But for me, that possibility is zero. Not even a millimetre of doubt. I can declare that with absolute certainty.

“…You can really say that without hesitation.”

Of course, I didn’t expect someone who doesn’t know the full story to just accept it. Kawamura’s surprise was only natural.

“For the record, Kazunari’s bride feels exactly the same way.”

Hanako-san voiced the part I’d been thinking but deliberately left unsaid.

If I’d said it myself, everyone would just write me off as an arrogant prick—which is why I kept quiet.

“…Satsukawa-senpai feels the same?”

“Yep. She stays with Kazunari for the exact same reason. That’s why her eyes are only on him. No one else can ever come between them.”

“““…………”””

Hanako-san’s words could have sounded melodramatic, almost exaggerated.

Yet no one tried to joke or brush them off. The weight in her voice—the weight of the sentiment itself—wouldn’t allow it.

When it comes to Sara-san and me, you could call Hanako-san our greatest ally in understanding.

Even Natsumi-senpai, who’s closest to Sara-san, or Yuji, who’s seen my past firsthand—they both understand us deeply, but from different angles.

The only person who truly grasps the raw feelings between Sara-san and me is Hanako-san.

And because it’s her saying it, those words carry real gravity.

By the time she finished, even the rowdy crowd that had been buzzing moments ago had gone quiet.

The girls were watching us with sparkling, curious eyes; the boys wore awkward, dejected expressions.

…So they were listening after all.

“Man… that’s kind of epic, isn’t it? The scale of this conversation…”

“No, in a way it makes sense. They’re only able to talk about engagement and marriage because they’re that certain of each other.”

“Y-Yeah… when you put it like that, maybe…?”

They might not fully grasp the emotional side, but as long as they understand that a reason that powerful exists for us, their takeaway ends up sounding a lot like Kawamura’s.

“It’s definitely fast by any normal standard, but it doesn’t feel wrong to me. I’m never going to leave Sara-san’s side, so engagement, future marriage—it all feels perfectly natural.”

I wasn’t just riding Hanako-san’s coattails; since everyone was listening anyway, I figured I might as well say it a little more firmly.

I don’t think they’d actually try anything at this point, but drawing a clear line never hurts.

“Sigh… I mean, Kawamura’s got a slightly different wavelength from the rest of us too, but Takanashi, you’re on another level.”

“Yeah. Sometimes it feels like we’re talking to an adult.”

“I’ve never really thought about it that way.”

I don’t consciously try to be different from everyone else. If anything… the ones making all that noise over there just feel like little kids to me—that’s the honest truth.

Back in middle school I thought the exact same thing about pretty much the entire class. Whether that’s leftover habit or something else, I can’t say.

The only thing I know for sure is that the Yamazaki incident changed something inside me. That much is undeniable.

“Anyway, if you want to shut those guys up fast, just openly showing how close you are with Satsukawa-senpai is the quickest way, trust me.”

“Even if you say that…”

Sure, Sara-san and I have done all sorts of things in public, but we never planned it. We just… lose sight of our surroundings.

…Wait, that’s literally what Hanako-san just said, isn’t it?

I feel like I just dug my own grave.

“If Kazunari asks her, the wife would happily hug or kiss him even in front of everyone.”

“““…Huh?”””

And with Hanako-san’s latest bombshell, every single pair of eyes in the room swung toward me again.

More importantly—Nee-chan, what the heck are you planning to say next!?

“Like I said earlier, she only has eyes for Kazunari—only thinks about Kazunari. If it’s for him, she doesn’t care who’s watching. If she says she’ll do it, she’ll do it.”

“““…………”””

She declared it with absolute confidence, no hint of jest or exaggeration.

And because everyone knows Hanako-san doesn’t joke around—and because they’ve all seen glimpses of Sara-san and me—the room couldn’t brush it off with laughter.

…Hold on. Is Hanako-san, in her own way, trying to back me up here?

She’s scarily good at reading my feelings. Maybe she noticed how conflicted I was about the guys’ antics and decided to step in…

“Oh, and if Kazunari asked me, I could do it too.”

“…Wha—!?”

“…Guh, why is it always Takanashi…”

“…The world is unfair.”

Hold on a second, why are you slipping in self-promotion!?

You’re pouring oil straight onto the fire—what is this situation!?

“H-Hey, Hanasaki-san, that was a joke too, right? Right? Hahaha…”

“I have no reason to joke.”

“““……………”””

And for the third time, every gaze in the room locked onto me.

I still wasn’t entirely sure what Hanako-san’s true intention was, but I decided to interpret it positively for now.

Supporting me.

Attacking the boys.

Asserting her big-sister status.

…And maybe putting a warning shot across the bows of every guy who has a crush on her?

That’s just my guess, though…